A variety of hardware and software applications exist which, in a limited way, allow companies to keep track of their resources. For example, Microsoft Project® is a software application that allows companies to plan and track projects in order to increase business performance and efficiency. However, most project/resource management tools require a user to manually enter and plan a project. For example, the user must often decide a project's scope, the kind of tasks associated with the project, the number of resources needed, and the availability of resources. Many times, the decisions are not accurate because a user often attempts to merely predict the scope of these items. Further, if problems develop along the way, the user typically must reschedule and try to account for the problems. Moreover, most project/resource management tools do not combine time entry with resource and task planning. Thus, a user may assume that a resource is logging eight hours a day on a task, but in reality, the resource may only be logging five hours.
Additionally, the available project/resource management tools do not generally provide for grading or scoring of resources and/or resource efficiencies. It may be difficult, therefore, to plan the effectiveness of different resources. For example, a senior engineer may be more efficient and effective at a given task than an entry-level engineer. Further, because of the global aspect of many businesses, certain managers monitor resources located in remote places. However, most project/management tools do not offer standard criteria for grading and tracking resources to assist in remote management. Further, many project/management tools do not provide sufficient capabilities for matching a resource to tasks most-suited to the resource's skill levels.